Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Recycling your car helps the National Kidney Foundation save lives, That old bucket of bolts sitting in your driveway can breathe new life into the environment, your pocketbook and those suffering from kidney disease. Donate your outdated automobile to Kidney Cars and become eligible for a tax deduction while helping the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland (NKF-MD) and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) get more mileage out of its education and prevention programs.

According to an April 22 release from our friends at NKF-MD, donating a used vehicle is a simple way to recycle and reuse to ensure a more sustainable future. All donated vehicles are either sold at auction or for parts.

The process is simple. To make a donation, call 800.488.CARS (2277) or visit www.kidneycars.org .

NKF-MD will pick up used cars, trucks, motorcycles or boats - in almost any condition - free of charge.

“The National Kidney Foundation of Maryland provides nearly $200,000 annually in direct financial assistance to kidney patients who would otherwise struggle to pay their medical and living expenses and another $200,000 each year for research to uncover causes of and treatments for kidney disease,” said NKF-MD Board Chairman Christopher Simon.

“Money raised locally through the Kidney Cars programs is spent locally for the benefit of patients in our service area and to support researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital,” he added.

Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, Kidney Cars has accepted more than 650,000 used vehicles that have pumped a total of $600 million into life-saving programs.

During the course of one year, Kidney Cars recycles 15,000 cars, 60,000 tires and 30,000,000 million pounds of steel.

On average, 81% of the proceeds raised through Kidney Cars directly support NKF programs, which are greatly needed for the following reasons:

More than 26 Million Americans - 1 in 9 adults – have chronic kidney disease; and most don’t know it.73 million American adults are at risk due to high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of kidney disease.Over 95,000 are awaiting a life-saving kidney transplant.